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The architectural style of Rome was firmly rooted in the Hellenistic
traditions. However, Roman architecture is probably more accurately reflected in
the development of new engineering skills and secular monuments than the ideas
of gods and perfection that birthed the Greek architecture. They introduced not
only new ways to construct a more efficient building but also a entirely
different purpose for the building to be built.
While still holding the beauty
that was so masterfully achieved by the Greek culture and adding their own
practically and ingenuity, the Romans developed an architectural style that
remains to this day.
The Greeks people had a very good reason, in their minds,
to build a beautiful piece of architecture; the worship of gods. Most all of the
examples of Greek architecture that we know of today were temples. The gods were
the driving force behind any major architecture of the Hellenistic period. This
is not true of the Roman culture.
Though the Romans did build temples to their
gods, the Roman style was more predominantly seen in public dwellings and social
gathering areas, such as basilicas and forums, than in their temples. In fact, a
majority of the temples that the Romans built were nothing more than copies of
Greek temples, with the exception of the domed Pantheon that will be discussed
later.
Also, the Romans included their emperors in the temples along with the
gods and sometimes the temple was just for the emperor himself. Another major
difference between Greek and Roman architecture was the purpose behind the
building. Greek architecture was meant to be viewed as a piece of art work that
was dedicated to the gods. This is easy to see from the ornateness of the
outside of the building with the pediments and metopes and the rather drabness
of the inside with the exception of the friezes.
The Greek designed it as a
sculpture in a sense, with all of the beauty to be viewed from the outside. This
way of thinking is turned completely around in the Roman architectural style.
Although the Roman building are beautiful on the outside, the true art lies on
the inside with the many-colored walls and paintings that gave a sense of depth
to the room. Also, the Roman architect was concerned with the lighting of the
room so that the interior decorations could be seen clearly. These things were
important to the Romans because their buildings were meant to be gathering
places for the public.
The basilica was one such of these types of buildings
that was intended to be a gathering place for Romans citizens to hold meeting
and perhaps even courts. Bathhouses and market places know as forums are yet
other examples of the types of building that the Romans focused on making
pleasing to the eye on the inside rather than the outside.
Not only did the
Romans differ on why to build a building but they also made drastic differences
on how to build it. The Greeks used what is know as a “post and lintel” system
of designing a building. This is basically the idea of standing to columns up
and placing a beam across them. A very simple and easy construction but on the
other hand not a very strong one.
As the Roman civilization grew larger and
larger the buildings they used for meetings and markets of course had to grow
too. This presented a problem with the use of columns, because the big the
building, the more columns needed to hold it up. Thus the Romans turned to
engineering for the solution and the arch was born. By using arches instead of
columns and beams, the weight of the structure was spread evenly out and toward
the ground rather than directly down on the beam.
This increased the amount of
weight that could be supported in a single area and thus giving more room on the
inside by taking away previously necessary columns, though they did keep some
around for decoration.
This invention of course changed the mindset on the
construction of regular building that would have relied of columns, but it also
was a stepping stone to another invention. The dome is nothing more than a
network of arches that form an enclosed building.
This is the theory that
created the Pantheon, a circular dome that was the temple to the gods. It is one
of the first of its kind and has stood for thousands of years while other
building designed strictly with columns have turn into nothing more than ruins.
The superior engineering skills of the Romans truly played a major role in their
architecture and set it apart from their Greek counterparts. Though the origin
of their ideas came from the Greek architecture, the Romans were brilliant in
the ways in which they organized and improved those ideas.
They pioneered
innovations in architecture, produced ground-breaking designs, and altered the
very way we view buildings. They have left an everlasting impact on architecture
by combining their way of life in the architecture that begin long before them.
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